Prepare some large bowls or buckets of chocolate ﬂavoured/coloured water. In each bowl or bucket place a certain number of sour worm lollies. Youth have to retrieve the most worms they can within a set time limit using only their faces. You might want to wear a bib... See more

Teams line up single file at the starting point (point A). Give each team a waiters tray with items such as cups, plates etc.Players must navigate through an obstacle course to point B without dropping items before returning to tag the next player. See more

Play a group challenge of 'Rock Paper Scissors' where everyone plays. Give each person 9 wrapped lollies (lives). They must challenge someone to a game, best out of 5. If they win, they get to take one of the other persons ‘lives’. If they lose, they give up a life. If you’re challenged to... See more

Teams line up side by side at point A. At point B, mark out three concentric circles for each team. The outer circle is worth 25 points, the inner circle is worth 50 and the centre circle 100. Players have to bowl three pumpkins into the circle to try and score for their team.Keep a tally of... See more

Set up a ring of spoons - one for each player minus one - on a table top. Youth sit around the table with their arms behind their backs. When the leader says the designated word, youth must lunge to grab a spoon. If they are successful, they stay in the game. If not, they’re out for the round.... See more

Map out a square on the ﬂoor with masking tape. Split the group into teams. Each team has a shot at squeezing everyone into the square you have created. No body parts can be touching the ground outside the square, people can piggy-back, stack or be held. The team must hold their positions for 5... See more

Teams number off and stand on each side of a rectangular area. Place 2 different coloured balloons in the middle of the area. When their number is called, players must try to be the first to pop their team's balloon for the point.Mix it up by having a single balloon ‘first to grab it’... See more

For this relay game, teams line up at point A. At point B is a table with items of food set up for each player. Players run, eat an item, and then run back to tag another player. First team finished wins. Items can be nice... or not so nice! See more

Using masking tape, old boxes and paper, set up a human board game on the ﬂoor with humans as pieces. Base it on Trivial pursuit, Ludo, chess, Monopoly (using local street names), or you can make up your own crazy game! See more

Two teams have to try and knock the other team off the court by throwing soft-style balls, without crossing the centre line.Start the game with teams lined up against their wall with 3-4 soft balls placed on the centre line. A person is out if they are hit A) anywhere or B) below the head or... See more

An extremely messy game for indoors or outdoors. Split your group into teams, lined up single file. Each team chooses someone to be 'The Face’. 'The Face' has to sit in a chair at the front of their team's line. Players must race into the designated playing area and find items to collect to... See more

See who of your youth is the loudest at something. A great up-front challenge for a large group, or an all play challenge for a smaller one.Good challenge categories include: loudest clap, finger click, burp, rooster crow, mouth pop, yell, car revving noise, foot stamp, whistle, wolf howl,... See more

Split youth into teams. The aim of this relay is to ‘transport’ whatever is to be transported from a container at point A to a container at point B, filling it to the marked level first in order to be the winner. Teams must transport using whatever methods or objects you designate.Teams... See more

Divide your group into two teams within a square playing area. Each team has a table, a stack of paper or plastic cups and a couple of old newspapers.Each team designates two ‘builders’. The rest of the team become ‘throwers’ or ‘defenders’ within the area. Teams must attempt to... See more

This challenge involves an element of pain. Players must stand at a table with an evenly distributed pile of spring clothes pegs in front of them. Whoever can peg the most pegs to their head within a set time limit wins the challenge. See more

Like an obstacle course, teams have to navigate through a gauntlet style course where each team member has to perform a key task before tagging the next player.Good tasks inclue sculling, speed eating, shooting a basketball, swimming, dressing up, jumping or climbing through obstacles,... See more

The 'Miss Inner Beauty' pageant is a fun teaching acitivity to explore character and virtues such as the Fruit of the Spirit:"...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no... See more

Split youth into teams and give them the same pre-prepared bundle of objects - such as newspapers, paper cups, toothpicks, straws, tape (choose some random and funny objects too). Their aim is to build the tallest ‘tower’ in a set time limit with whatever objects you have given them. Make... See more

Teams line up on the edge of a large rectangular area. They are each given 3 planks to use. They must navigate from one side to the other fastest without touching the ground. The first team to do so wins.The trick is to make the planks a length that ensures the teams will find it tricky to... See more

Teams line up single file at point A. At point B there is a small container as a soccer goal for each team.Using their lung power, players must score a goal by blowing a ping pong ball with a straw. Once they’ve scored, they return and tag the next person. First team to finish is the... See more

Split youth into teams and assemble them side by side at the edge of the playing area. The object of the game is for each team to send out 2-3 people at a time into the playing area to retrieve (in order) items assigned for making pudding. Make sure you have at least 5 or more ingredients (such... See more

Prepare some interesting food items beforehand and invite participants to take on the straight face challenge. Players must stand in a line facing the crowd, down the food item and try to keep a straight face the longest.Food items can include wasabi spoonful, chilli sauce, lambs tongue,... See more

Set up an obstacle course with unique situations for players to navigate through. Include challenges such as over under, climbing, speed eating station, jelly bath tub, rope net, car push, spread the toast, monkey bars and can scull. Teams can either race side by side or you can time each team as... See more

In this relay game, teams must line up single file behind a dressing station. At each station have some pre organised ‘grandma’ clothes, wigs etc, and sets of lolly false teeth (found in most dairies or supermarkets).Players have to get dressed at point A, insert the false teeth into... See more

This is a thinking/strategy game. The youth are grouped on one side of an imaginary divide and must cross it to survive. The only way they can cross is if the ‘superhero’ (with a super prop of some kind) is carrying them.However, once the superhero has crossed once, they can no longer be... See more

This challenge is pretty adaptable. Simply invite youth to participate and give each ‘eater’ something to eat the fastest. It could be a hot chilli, wasabi spoon, lambs tongue, bowl of chocolate pasta, baked beans - whatever you wish. You can always make a 3 course meal of it or... See more

Create a mock tennis court inside a hall or use a court outside and play team tennis... with a giant ‘Swiss’ ball!It is heaps of fun. You can add 2 balls for even more carnage.Also works with volleyball, soccer and rugby. See more

A competition of leg strength. Ask participating youth to stand against a wall in a line up. When you give the word, they have to assume ‘the wall’ position, which is as if they are sitting on a chair with their back against the wall—except there is no chair......Do your legs... See more

This game is just like Rob the Nest except it uses rolled up old socks!Teams set up in a circular pattern spread around evenly with a basket in front of their group. Each player gets a turn to be the ‘thief’ and must try and steal socks from other teams to put in their basket. Start... See more

Teams stand on the outside of a marked off playing area. Each team is given a mass of old paper to form into balls. Within the playing area is a bin for their team. They must throw the most paper balls into their bin after time to win.This game also works with paper darts. Or try it with... See more

Teams line up side by side and must choose a member to be the ‘catcher’. The catcher's job is to lie on the ground and place a small cup on their forehead. The team must then take turns to race and fill the cup by standing on a high chair and releasing the toothpaste over their... See more

Challenge your youth to a paint race!You’ll need drinking straws, a large sheet of paper, and some water-based paint in different colours (one colour per participant). Thin out the paint with water, so that it will move across the page when blown with the straw. The thicker the paint is,... See more

Each youth is given a small number of green dot stickers (bogies) or red dots (chicken pox) - depending what you’re in the mood for.Once time starts, youth have to run around the room and ‘stick’ their stickers onto other players.The aim is to remove any stickers that get... See more

A life-sized, fast paced twist on an old favourite - tic tac toe (aka naughts and crosses). This was a hit with Phil's youth group!Watch the clip below to see how to play. Since you can play with just six players, this one's perfect if you've got a small group.Note: If you don't... See more

Arrange a table of nice and not so nice foods. Give each food a number from 1-6.Each player roles a dice twice to see which foods they must blend.Put the corresponding foods into a blender and give it to the youth to drink.If they drink it down they win!For another great... See more

Before the youth arrive, hide items around the room or buildings — a 'secret stash' or hidden treasure.Provide a check list with different points for what the youth are to find.Let them go for it - with a set time limit.It also works well with chocolates. See more

Split your youth into teams. Prepare the playing area to resemble a grid - ‘the grass’ - using masking tape and pieces of paper (A3 or newspaper squares).The leader makes up a map of the grid on a piece of paper to refer to and marks in squares that contain ‘tigers’. Youth have to... See more

Learn about Lent and have fun at the same time! This Lent Quiz is short, fun and easy to run in your youth group as part of your Lent programme. To make the quiz more challenging (e.g. for older teenagers), simply leave out the multi-choice options and see what answers they come up... See more

2 teams line up on opposite sides of a large playing area and choose a rooster each to wait in the middle. When the leader calls ‘chicken run’ each team has to swap ends without being tagged by the other teams rooster.If tagged, a chicken must freeze until a fellow chicken frees them by... See more

A good old fashioned tag game. Once the person who is ‘in’ has tagged someone, they become part of the snake (by linking arms) until everyone is tagged and the game begins again.Add 2-3 snakes for more pace. See more

A classic but a goodie. The group form a circle. 1-2 players are sent from the room to be the investigator/s while the rest of the group nominate a ringleader. Everything the ringleader does, the group has to do. The investigators have to try and guess who it is with just three... See more

Play as individuals or in teams. Each person receives a balloon (or 2) and a piece of string. Each person blows up their balloon(s) and ties it to their ankle. When play begins, the aim of the game is to pop other players balloons to take them out of the game using your feet (or feet and... See more

Spotlight is a classic night game. Play in teams or as individuals.Set up a glowing goal that youth must get to from a designated starting point some distance away.Youth must try and navigate through the dark to reach the goal without being ‘spotted’ by leaders weilding flashlights... See more

This twist on Pass the Parcel is a fun way to tell the Christmas story and reflect on God’s gift of love in Jesus. Our young people really enjoyed this. Our churched young people appreciated hearing a familiar story in a fresh way, and our ‘community’ kids had a fun introduction to a side of... See more

The soft toy version of ultimate Frisbee. 2 teams, 1 old teddy.Mark out a rectangular playing area either inside or outdoors, with a goal line at each long end.Teams must throw and pass the teddy to other team mates with the intention of passing it to a team mate behind... See more

Play with multiple teams in a large outdoor setting. Each team creates a nest (using a rope circle 3m in diameter) with 3 eggs in it (use larger balls) which they must guard.They are not allowed within their own nests circle but to the opposition this is the ‘safe zone’. Teams must... See more

Test your youth group's knowledge of the Bible with a game of Bible Netball.You will need: a netball or volleyball, a hoop (we used a rubbish bin strapped to a chair), and a Bible for each team. Make sure you have enough space to pass the ball around relative to your size group.How to... See more

Split your youth into teams and hand them each a sheet of items they must collect and bring back to the youth area after time. You can either use vehicles or walk on foot.Items are worth various points based on difficulty and can include things like: cafe cards, fast food wrappers,... See more

Crank up the stereo and ask youth to walk at random around the room to a certain style, homie, robotic, animalistic, slow motion, speed walker etc...When the music stops, yell a number and the youth must group together with that amount in their group.Play this either as an elimination... See more

A game that teaches about guidance. The big idea? God is a trust-worthy guide.The Game:Set the room up beforehand with up to four mousetraps, already set. Next to them place sweets and biscuits. We had the chocolate touching the mousetrap, other less appealing sweets slightly further... See more

Give each youth a dry Weet-Bix to eat. Youth have to stand in a row facing each other either playing as individuals or as teams. First to finish their dry Weet-Bix while staring out the person opposite wins.Can also be played with multiple food items, saving the Weet-Bix for last. Also... See more

Arrange your youth in two lines so that they are standing facing each other. Give each person a new toothpick.Challenge them to see which line can transport whatever item you present the quickest using only their toothpick in their mouth - no other assistance.Great items to use... See more

Explain to the youth that you’re fresh out of ideas and need to design a new game.Split them into groups and give them a list of what they can use to design the world's next best new game — as well as a few safety guidelines.Set a time limit and see what they come up with. They... See more

This icebreaker is great as a small group starter and doesn’t actually involve fire.Give the invitation to take on a selection of ‘tongues of fire’ challenges. Categories could include: Speed alphabet recital, speed count to 30, speed reading a set passage, longest “Aarrgh”... See more

A great game for small groups. Sitting in a circle, give each youth a copy of the exact same Bible to use. Bibles must be face down on a table to start.From your Bible, say out loud a book, chapter, verse and word number for them to find, for example "Genesis, 1:1, 3". Then say,... See more

This game is best played in a hall with a halfway mark. Divide your group into 2 teams. Each team has a certain number of cones or plastic buckets set up at their end of the playing area in a straight line, evenly spaced apart (5 works well).By throwing soft balls, teams have to try and knock... See more

Put together a human bingo card requiring interesting facts, traits or skills and ask youth to find other youth who qualify to sign their card off.They must find a different person for each square to sign and must have proof if it’s a physical trait.Required squares could be things... See more

Tape a large card bearing a letter of the alphabet to each person’s arm. Give each person a small card and a pencil. The goal is for letters to get together and spell words. Once they’ve spelled a word, they write it on their card. Then separate everyone and look for new words.Award points... See more

Divide your group into two teams, and set up play within a rectangular area, and include some obstacles around the space.Give each team 3-4 sturdy chairs that they must use to stay off the ground in order to collect or ’rescue’ items around the area. Items could include random... See more

Play this game with multiple teams. Give each team a bucket and gather in a circular playing area with a cabbage positioned in the middle.Each team numbers off and gathers behind their bucket awaiting to be called in. Call in numbers, or ‘all in’ if you’re bold.Once called in,... See more

This classic game is the opposite to Hide and Seek. At the start, 1 person is chosen to go and hide somewhere. The rest count to 100 and then must individually try and find the hider. If they do, they then hide with them, waiting for someone else to find them and squishing into the hiding... See more

Youth are split into multiple teams depending on numbers. The object of the game is to seek out stations and bring to home base different coloured pieces of wool from each station.Assign a leader to each station with a ball of wool. Each different coloured piece of wool is worth a certain... See more

To play Splat Volley, you'll need two teams on each side of a marked out court area separated by a volleyball net. Instead of a ball, teams must lob water filled balloons of various sizes over the net to the other team.Lobs must be underarm. If the other team catches the balloon, they... See more

This is a Christmas Quiz of epic proportions. See how much you really know about Christmas with this massive series of Christmas quizzes covering Global Traditions, Kiwi Christmas, Most Expensive Toys, Christmas Carols, All About Jesus, and a good old True & False section as... See more

Divide your group into two teams. In the middle of a rectangular playing area, set up a makeshift wall that is high enough that the teams can’t see over it (approx 1 metre high). You will need 3-4 soft balls.Teams lay low on either side of the wall, and attempt to avoid being hit by... See more

Simply announce that you want everyone to line up by birth date. Only catch... no talking.This provides a way to randomly mix people up. Once they are all lined up, get everyone to call out their birthday in order, starting from the top.Congratulate them if they have it right, and note... See more

This game is just like netball, except you use a person standing on a chair within a circle instead of a goal. They have to catch the ball for a goal to be scored. If the ball touches the ground it’s a handover. The goalie swaps each time a goal is scored. Players aren’t allowed into the... See more

Set up a course within your playing area made up of different objects and bits of furniture that can be safely climbed and walked on. Make sure there are multiple routes and ways to get around the room.Split the youth into pairs. Each pair has a turn to be the ‘catchers’ and must chase... See more

The simplest game to divide your group into teams is to simply yell "Form a group according to..." (e.g. school year, number of siblings, month born in, shoe colour, etc...)If you're looking for an exact number of people per team, you can just say, for example "Form a group of 6 people with... See more

Divide your group into 2 teams, and have them stand on opposite sides of a rectangular playing area, with a small goal at each end. Number everyone off and give each person a rolled up paper stick made with newspaper and masking tape. Place a small ball in the centre and call in a... See more

Hand everyone a playing card as they come in. When you are ready to form your teams, call out a poker combination that they have to form a group with:e.g. if you want them in threes, call “Three of a Kind”; in fives, call “Full House” (three of a kind plus a pair) or “A flush” (five of... See more

Activities you can use to help your youth to explore and relate to the story of Exodus. "The Law" is part 4 of a series on Exodus.The Big Idea: Being obedient, living the way he requiresPassages you could look at: Exodus 19:3-6, Exodus 20:1-17, Matthew 5:17-20, John 14:15Game... See more

Divide the room with masking tape into 6 squares with a number (1-6) in each.Youth have 10 seconds to decide which square to stand in before you roll a dice. If the square number they’re in comes up, they’re out and have to sit down.Play until you have 1 youth (or team) remaining as... See more

Instruct your whole group to walk randomly around the room. About every ten seconds or so, call out a number and an (appropriate) part of the body. Players must immediately form a group of the number called, with everyone connected in a circle or a line by that body part, e.g. line up shoulder to... See more

Activities you can use to help your youth to explore and relate to the story of Exodus. "Manna & Water" is part 3 of a series on Exodus.The Big Idea: God’s Provision & Trusting in HimPassages you could look at: Exodus 16:1-27, 31, Exodus 17:1-7, Matthew 6:25-34Whining... See more

This is a great game for a smaller crowd. You will need a table tennis table or large table, ping pong balls, tape, and paper cups (optional).Assign each person playing a goal - you can either use masking tape to mark it out or create a physical goal with 2 paper cups taped to the... See more

As young people arrive, give them each the piece to a kid’s jigsaw puzzle (min. 10 pieces, max. 25). Have the same number of puzzles as you want teams (e.g. three). If you have extra puzzle pieces left over, place them back into the correct puzzle frames. When it’s time to form teams, lay out... See more

Find out a few of each other’s favourite things with this quick get-to-know-you activity.You'll need a pen and a copy of “My Favourite...” questionnaire (see below for instructions on how to create this), for each student in the room.Before starting, each student fills... See more

Activities you can use to help your youth to explore and relate to the story of Exodus. "Trapped" is part 1 of a series on Exodus, which you could run over four weeks or use all four sessions at a camp.The Big Idea: Just as the Israelites were trapped in Egypt, we can also be... See more

Lolly Scramble is a fun way to quickly get your youth to form teams for games or group activities. Bring a few distinctly different types of wrapped sweets (e.g. Minties, Éclairs, Fruit Bursts etc...) and have a lolly scramble. But tell them they can only grab one kind of... See more

Secretly plant several people in your crowd who have a wrapped lolly (e.g. a Fruit Burst) hidden in their pocket.Tell everyone to go and introduce themselves to each other and tell them something interesting about themselves. Announce that your "planted people" will give a prize... See more

Teams gather round a table with 10 pieces of paper each.In turn, a person from each team is shown one of the Christmas phrases below (or make up others) and has to draw it while the rest of their team try and guess what the phrase is.With larger groups use two whiteboards back to back... See more

Divide into groups of 3-5. Give each group a few minutes to make a list of as many Christmas Carols as they can think of.After time is called, each group takes turns singing a few lines of one of the Christmas Carols on their list. No group can sing a Carol already sung by another group. If... See more

For this game, divide your group into teams of four or five: one person will be the 'Christmas tree' and the others will be the decorators.Our youth group loved it when they got to decorate the leaders. And yes, this is me covered in tinsel in the photo!Give each team a decorating kit,... See more

Here are two multiple choice quizzes: one is based on the Gospel account of Christmas, the other is based on all the wordly add-ons. See which one people do better in!All the questions and answers for both quizzes are below, or you can download and print the Question and Answer Sheets... See more

Ask a series of trivia questions about any topic, such as history, science or geography. Most correct answers wins points for team.Here's a sample quiz - feel free to download & use this! Countries Quiz (PDF, 73KB) See more

Put a scrambled word on the screen . . . first to unscramble it gets points for their team. Play a couple of rounds.Or… make a whole activity of it around a Bible passage as below (Mark 4 or Matt 13) (click on the image to view larger).See more

Show a 2-3 minute clip from a movie or TV show. When it’s finished, ask a series of questions about what the students just saw. The first person to raise their hand and correctly answer the question gets a point for their team.Be sure to watch the movie ahead of time and come up with plenty... See more

Divide your group into a minimum of three teams. Teams are given a list of subjects e.g. Country, Girls Name, Food, Sport, Job etc… Pick 9-10 categories.The leader calls out a letter and in 2 minutes the teams have to write down examples of each category that start with that letter. E.g. if... See more

Start out with two people sitting back to back. They have to stand straight up without using their hands.Add one person every time they stand up successfully. The students will be amazed at how it works! See more

All you need is a soft ball (not a softball!) and a minimum of four players. Two players step into the circle. One is the “President” the other the “Bodyguard”. Everyone else forms a circle around these two. The players around the circle throw the ball to try and hit the President. The... See more

A blanket is held up with the group in two teams obscured from each other on either side of the blanket. A person is selected from each team to stand in front of their team behind the blanket (effectively two opposing team members are facing each other but with a blanket between them.) When the... See more

Take five people and have them take off their shoes and socks. Take a marker and write a large letter on the bottom of each of their feet so if they sit facing you and hold their feet in the air, you can read the letters. On the first person put an A and a N (one letter on each foot), on the next... See more

Blend 'O' Rama is a great up front game that is very entertaining to watch. Find 2-4 students who have strong stomachs. You know the type - the students that claim they'll do anything!Place a blender each on a table up front. Have several different edible items placed in a lunch bag for each... See more

Get 4 volunteers up front and have them sit down facing the rest of the group. On a low table in front of each of the volunteers, have the ingredients for lemonade: half a lemon each, a tablespoon of sugar, and a glass of water.Announce that this is going to be a race to make lemonade. When... See more

An hour before-hand, get two t-shirts, soak them in water and wring them out to a good damp (if they’re too wet this won’t work). Fold them up nicely and place them on wax paper inside your freezer.Ask for two volunteers. Pull the t-shirts out of the freezer. When you say “go” they... See more

Take 3 guys out of the room. One at a time tell them to walk in with music playing with their studliest strut while the crowd is clapping and cheering. Each one is to sit down between two girls on a make shift couch (consisting of two chairs and a blanket). There is no chair in the middle where he... See more

Hold up a $10 note and offer it to anyone who can perform a simple task. Bring the volunteer up the front and tell them that the $10 is theirs if they can simply jump over it the way you designate. Lay the note on the ground. Have the person stand with their toes to it. They must bend over and grab... See more

Prepare beforehand by spreading out plastic on your stage area. Try to find a place where everyone can see someone lying down.Get 2-3 pairs to come up front. Have one partner lay down on the plastic and the other to stand above them with a small cup of chocolate syrup. The "dropper," standing... See more

Have two challengers face each other with their hands behind their back. On “Go!” they are to whip both hands out in front of them with a random amount of fingers sticking out. The first one to yell out the total number of fingers their opponent is sticking out, is the winner. See more

Get everyone to do a 2-3 minute workout using this YouTube clip - Double Dream Hands.Follow it up with Double Dream Feet at the next meeting (or the next day at camp). You've just got to introduce it enthusiastically - after that it works a treat. See more

Group sits in a circle and a volunteer in the middle selects someone whom they will try to get to laugh. If they fail, they move on to someone else. If they get the person to laugh, that person is ‘in’ and swaps places with them. Now it’s their turn to make someone else in the circle... See more

Group forms a circle (minimum 7 people needed). One person starts off with a ball and throws it to someone anywhere in the circle. Someone catches the ball and the people either side of them have to put their inside arms up without hesitation. If there is reasonable hesitation that person has to... See more

Group forms a circle and someone e.g. a leader calls the name of a player. Immediately the people either side of the named player turn to that person, form their hand into a gun and say “Bang!” The person named tries to ‘duck’ by bobbing down.The slowest person to ‘duck’ or to say... See more

Rapido is like Pictionary but with playdough (or Cranium's Sculpturades). Bring along to youth group some (bought or home–made) playdough - about an ice-cream container full is good. Split the group into two teams who will compete to be the fastest to complete each of 7-10 rounds. Give each team... See more

Have everyone seated. Instruct people to move according to your directions, if they fit the description. Soon you’ll have some funny pile ups and lots of laughter. Check beforehand for people with a disability or injury that may exclude them.Move 1 seat to the left if …. you’re wearing... See more

Explain that this game involves miming to your team things that Jesus did in his time on earth - just like charades. There will be 10 rounds in which your team tries to guess the answer before the other teams.Use the red Jesus cards (gifted to participants at The Abbey 2017) or print your own... See more

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About Resourced!

Resourced! is all about resourcing Anglican youth ministries in New Zealand. Here you’ll find resources for youth leaders, resources that engage young people, resources that build strong, vibrant Christ-centred youth ministries: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” Ephesians 4:12.More about Resourced!